December movie preview

Wednesday

Nov 13, 2013 at 5:16 PM

Here’s a look at a baker’s dozen of the major titles opening between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. There will no doubt be some Oscar nominees among them.

There’s been a longstanding tradition in Hollywood to save the big guns for the end of the year, for that brief window between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. That’s when the studios have regularly released those films that they think will have the best chances to pick up Oscar nominations because they’ll be fresh on the minds of those who nominate. This year has been a little different.

There’s already plenty of Oscar buzz out there for ... ready? ... one pick from each major category: Supporting Actress: Oprah Winfrey (“The Butler”), Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave”), Actress: Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”), Actor: Robert Redford (“All Is Lost”), Director: Alexander Payne (“Nebraska”), Picture: “12 Years a Slave.” And there’s still the month of December ahead. Here’s a look at a baker’s dozen of the major titles opening over those four weeks. There will no doubt be some nominees among them. They’re in alphabetical order.

"American Hustle" – It happened in the 1980s. An FBI sting operation that became known as ABSCAM resulted in bribery and conspiracy convictions among members of – watch out! – the House and the Senate. This fictionalized version of that story, involving conmen, Mafiosi and FBI agents focuses on Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), his partner in crime Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and kind of crazy FBI man Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Directed by David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”).

"Anchorman: The Legend Continues" – The title says it all. Full-of-himself dim light bulb newscaster Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) moves on from the 1970s by relocating from San Diego to Manhattan, where he lands a gig at the Big Apple’s first 24-hour news channel. Original director Adam McKay returns, along with most of the original cast, and a few nicely placed big-name cameos. Hard to believe it’s been a decade since the first film.

"August: Osage County" – Nothing like a good old dysfunctional family drama for your Christmas Day viewing. Meet the women who call themselves the Westons (Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Julianne Nicholson) and their foul-mouthed, drug-addled mom (Meryl Streep) who all get together to deal with a family crisis. Based on the hit play by Tracy Letts, early word is that the performances are excitingly and emotionally unhinged. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, Sam Shepard, and Chris Cooper.

"47 Ronin" – It’s been remade and gone under many different titles in Japan, where the original film “The 47 Ronin” was released in 1941. But this one, the seventh version, marks the first time Hollywood has taken a stab at it. This epic version features Keanu Reeves (and a mostly Japanese cast) as a samurai looking for revenge when a bad guy shogun kills his master. Opens on Christmas Day.

"Grudge Match" – Back in the day, about three decades ago, boxing fans would line up to see amazing matches between the two top guys in the game – Billy “The Kid” McDonnen and Henry “Razor” Sharp. Now word is out that these guys still want a piece of each other, so one last fight between “The Kid” (Robert De Niro) and “Razor” (Sylvester Stallone) is set up. Hmmm, both of these guys have played boxers in pretty successful movies. But this one’s a comedy, with Kim Basinger and Alan Arkin. Also opens on Christmas Day.

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" – The second of the three Peter Jackson movies based on one book continues the tale of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) on his long journey with a gaggle of dwarfs and Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to save their homeland from the wrath of the dragon Smaug. Note: A certain ring is found along the way. With Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, and Andy Serkis as Gollum.

"Inside Llewyn Davis" – A visit to the early-’60s folk music scene of New York, and a look at the life of struggling singer-songwriter Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac, who has a beautiful voice and knows his way around a guitar). There’s a fantastic soundtrack of little known traditional songs, along with some originals, but it’s the story of Llewyn, who might mean well, but lacks pretty much all social graces, that’s the draw. As is the fact that this is the newest offering from Joel and Ethan Coen.

"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" – The story of Nelson Mandela’s years of imprisonment in a small cell, due to his political views, is a well-known one. But this film, with Idris Elba in the title role, and Naomie Harris taking on the part of his strong-willed wife Winnie, goes all the way back to his formative years in a rural village, and comes all the way up to his inauguration as president of South Africa.

"Out of the Furnace" – As a follow-up to his surprise 2009 hit “Crazy Heart,” writer-director (and former actor) Scott Cooper goes the action route with young brother Rodney Baze (Casey Affleck) vanishing under a crime-ridden cloud of mystery, and older brother Russell Baze (Christian Bale) – recently released from prison – trying to figure out what happened, with or without the help of the cops.

"Saving Mr. Banks" – You know that nice Disney movie “Mary Poppins,” with the flying nanny and the dancing penguins? It was based on the book by P.L. Travers, and what went on behind the real-life scenes between Disney and the author was not very nice, especially since she didn’t want Hollywood touching her baby. Here’s that story, with Emma Thompson as the feisty Travers, and Tom Hanks as Disney.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" – Danny Kaye played James Thurber’s fantastical daydreamer in 1947, and Ben Stiller takes on the role now. This story goes a lot further into adventure than the original film or the book, and visual effects will be way up front in the telling of it. Kristen Wiig is the love interest, and Stiller directs for the first time since the terrific “Tropic Thunder.” Another Christmas Day release.

"Walking with Dinosaurs" – You’ve gotta have one just for the kids, so here’s an animated entry about an underachieving young dinosaur who must stand up tall and become a hero. With the voices of Justin Long and John Leguizamo. In 3-D.

"The Wolf of Wall Street" – Cast and director are certainly impressive (Leo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, and Rob Reiner, with Martin Scorsese calling the shots). But do we really need another true story about rich guys who go crooked? This one is about securities fraud in the ’90s. If you want to know how it ends, look up Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) on Google. If you don’t want to know, and you have faith in strong directing and acting, this might be something to look forward to. It also opens on busy Christmas Day.